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A verse form consisting of rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter, especially when characterized by enjambement (as used by Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales); an example of this. Compare "heroic couplet". Formerly also used of other rhyming verse forms.
Late 16th century; earliest use found in George Gascoigne (d. 1577), author and soldier. From either riding or riding + rhyme.